Page 21 - Kolkata

Kolkata petrol pumps see 10 times hike in payments in Rs 2,000 notes

Petrol pumps in Kolkata claim that they have witnessed a 10-fold increase in payments using Rs 2,000 notes from people buying fuel since the RBI announced withdrawal of the high-value currency from circulation, officials said on Monday. In the case of jewellers, the increase in payment by Rs 2,000 notes is 15-20 per cent compared to the weeks before May 19 when the central bank made the announcement. "We are getting 10 times higher number of Rs 2,000 currency notes now since the announcement. We used to get 10-15 notes a day, but now it has risen to 130-140 on average," West Bengal Petroleum Dealers Association president Prasenjit Sen told PTI. However, India Bullion and Jewellers Association president (West Bengal) Ashok Begani said, "There is no panic buying as was witnessed in 2016 when currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations that were in circulation at that time were withdrawn overnight". The use of Rs 2,000 notes by customers has risen 15-20 per cent since the ...

Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat cancelled on Monday due to damage by tree branch

The Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat Express was cancelled on Monday as the rake will undergo urgent repairs for damages caused by tree branches falling on the running train during a storm on the previous day, officials said. The new ICF rake suffered dents on the facia, damage to a pantograph and cracks in the windshield during a thunderstorm near Baitarani Road railway station in Odisha's Jajpur district on Sunday evening. The South Eastern Railway (SER), in a statement, said, "22895/22896 Howrah-Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express will remain cancelled for repairs of damages caused by thunderstorm on May 21 in Cuttack-Bhadrak section of East Coast Railway." The incident happened around 4.45 pm between Baitarani Road and Manjuri Road stations. The train was stranded for three hours till a relief diesel engine pulled it till Manjuri Road, from where the train ran on its own. Tree branches got entangled with its pantograph, besides cracking its windshield and denting the facia, an official ..

Akasa Air commences daily flight operations from Kolkata: Report

Akasa Air on Thursday started daily flight services from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport in Kolkata, the airline said in a statement. The eastern metropolis is the airline's 17th destination and the second in West Bengal after Bagdogra. The airline started non-stop flights between Kolkata and Guwahati and Bengaluru. In the inaugural flight, 174 passengers travelled from Kolkata to Assam's largest city and 167 arrived in Kolkata from the Karnataka capital. On a daily basis, the airline's flight will arrive in Kolkata from Bengaluru at 5.15 pm and leave for Guwahati at 5.55 pm. The return flight from Guwahati will reach Kolkata at 9.10 pm and leave for Bengaluru at 9.50 pm, an AAI statement said. "Akasa has introduced services such as a caf and allowed pets on the plane," Belson Coutinho, co-founder and Chief Marketing and Experience Officer of the airline said. "We are delighted to launch operations from Kolkata, our second destination in West Bengal," Prav

CCI notifies setting up of regional offices in Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has notified setting up of its regional offices in Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai. The regional offices will help the regulator in creating more awareness about competition law as well as provide easier access to people. The watchdog keeps a tab on unfair business practices across sectors in the market place as well as takes various initiatives to promote competition. The Southern Regional Office is in Chennai while the Eastern and Western Regional Offices are in Kolkata and Mumbai, respectively. These offices were inaugurated earlier. In terms of territorial jurisdiction, seven states and Union Territories (UTs), including Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, will be under the Southern Regional Office, according to a notification dated May 16. As many as 14 states and UTs, including West Bengal and Odisha, will be under the Eastern Regional Office. A total of 4 states and UTs, including Maharashtra and Gujarat, will be under the jurisdicti

Varanasi- Kolkata Expressway: Travel From Delhi to Kolkata in 17 hours

At present, the Purvanchal, Lucknow-Agra, and Yamuna Expressways make it possible for a traveller to cover the Delhi-Varanasi journey in just over 10 hours

Mauritius President Prithvirajsing Roopun to visit Kolkata on two-day trip

Swapan Dasgupta said that there are no state functions involved in Mauritius President Prithvirajsing Roopun's visit to Kolkata

Woman passenger misbehaving on IndiGo flight handed over to Kolkata police

The CISF personnel had to wait till sunrise since at Indian law, the police cannot take a woman in custody after sunset

Nitish likely to meet Mamata in Kolkata on Apr 25, discuss Lok Sabha polls

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is likely to meet his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on April 25, sources said on Sunday night. Kumar is expected to meet Banerjee around 2 pm at her office in state secretariat 'Nabanna' on that day, they said. The two leaders are likely to hold a closed-door meeting to strategise on fighting the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, they added. Banerjee held similar meetings with Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik last month.

Massive fire in West Bengal's Howrah district guts over 100 shops

Over 100 shops were gutted as a massive fire devastated a market in West Bengal's Howrah district in the early hours of Wednesday, officials said. The fire broke out at the Ludlow Bazar in Chengail in Uluberia police station area around midnight, they said. It spread fast, gutting over 100 shops, many of which were temporary structures. Ten fire tenders brought the blaze under control after fighting it for over four hours, officials said. There was no casualty, they said, adding that the cause of the fire will be known after an investigation. The damage caused by the fire is being ascertained, officials said. Traders said they had stocked goods recently expecting surge in sales due to Eid, and the fire caused damage worth lakhs of rupees.

Prices of vegetables soar 15-30% due to summer heat in and around Kolkata

The sweltering heat in Kolkata and surrounding districts are impacting vegetable production leading to a surge in prices, an official said on Tuesday. Prices of common vegetables have increased by 15-30 per cent in recent weeks and unless there is rainfall within the next five to six days, rates are expected to rise further, a vendors' body said. "The ongoing intense heat and lack of rain have had a significant impact on vegetable production. Supplies in producers' markets in the districts have already decreased drastically ," West Bengal Vendor's Association president Kamal De told PTI. Citing an example, De said that farmers' markets or haats' at Gopalnagar close to Bongaon in North 24 Parganas district received an average of nearly 100-125 truckloads of pointed gourds per day during this time last year. But the number has dropped to 45 a day now. "The situation is even worse at small markets ," De added. There are about 50-60 large such haats' in the state. Crops are also show

After a Covid hiatus, West Bengal feels the infotech buzz again

After a Covid hiatus, the state's IT hubs are seeing the big names in the business setting up or expanding operations

Encouraging trend for public transport in India: PM Modi on Kolkata metro

The trial run on the 4.8 km underground section from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade will begin soon

Metro rake runs under river for 1st time in India, goes Howrah from Kolkata

Kolkata Metro created history on Wednesday when its rake ran through a tunnel under a river for the first time in the country, a senior official said here. The Metro rake which had only officials and engineers on board ran under the Hooghly from Kolkata to Howrah on the other side of the river. This is a revolutionary step in providing a modern transport system to the people of Kolkata and its suburbs, the official said. Metro Railway General Manager P Uday Kumar Reddy and other senior officers travelled from Mahakaran station in Kolkata to Howrah Maidan station in the rake.

Warrant against 7 accused in Kolkata clashes, NIA announces award

The NIA has announced an award of Rs 1,00,000 each for anyone who provides information about these seven absconding accused

'Eastern India's largest' public EV charging hub comes up near Kolkata

The West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (WBHIDCO) in partnership with a private firm Powerbank has established "Eastern India's largest" public fast charging hub for electric vehicles (EVs) near Kolkata. The EV Charging Hub located at New Town is currently capable of fast-charging 25 vehicles at a time, WBHIDCO said in a statement. Further expansions will allow 50-75 vehicles to enjoy fast charging and slow charging facilities. The public can access these charging facilities in a hassle-free manner through the Powerbank EV charging mobile application," it said. The charging hub is located near the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre, owned by WBHIDCO, an agency of the West Bengal government.

IPL 2023 KKR vs RCB Highlights: Shardul, Varun give Kolkata a huge victory

Indian Premier League 2023, RCB vs KKR Live updates: Playing at their home turf for the first time, the pairing of a new coach and captain Chandrakant Pandit and Nitish Rana put under a stern test

Train in Howrah-Bandel section suspended due to stone pelting in Hoogly

Train movement was suspended in the Howrah-Bandel section for about 3 hours due to stone pelting at Rishra, informed officials on Tuesday

Air India plane's engine blade found damaged after landing in Kolkata

One of the engine blades of an Air India plane was found to be damaged after it landed in Kolkata on Monday morning, said officials who suspect that it was caused by a bird hit. A blade on the right engine of the plane, Airbus A320, which arrived here from Mumbai, was found to be bent during checks after boarding was complete for its return journey, they said. Air India flight AI675 landed in Kolkata around 8.20 am, after taking off from Mumbai at 6.16 am, they said. For its return journey to Mumbai, a total of 119 passengers boarded the plane (AI676) from Kolkata. There were also six cabin crew on the plane, which was preparing to take off when the damage was detected, they added. The passengers were made to deboard the plane, which then underwent repairs. The passengers went to Mumbai on the same flight around 1 pm, officials said.

Kolkata airport gets DigiYatra, check-in with facial recognition tech

Passengers travelling through the Kolkata airport will now be able to check in for their flights and board planes with facial recognition technology as DigiYatra was rolled out here on Friday, an official statement said. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport is the fourth one in the country after airports in Delhi, Bengaluru and Varanasi have the facility that provides a seamless entry and embarkation process for air passengers. DigiYatra' was rolled out in those three airports in the first phase in December last year. "Its main objective is to enhance passenger experience by eliminating the need for verification of ticket and ID at multiple touch points and to achieve better movement of passengers through existing infrastructure using a digital framework," the Kolkata airport said in a statement. The trials of the technology started at the Kolkata airport on February 21, and till Thursday, 9,206 passengers utilised the facility. Passengers travelling through Air India

Etihad Airways resumes direct flights between Kolkata and Abu Dhabi

Etihad Airways resumed flight services between Kolkata and Abu Dhabi on Sunday after three years, a statement said. The airlines will operate two flights a day, four days a week -- Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday -- from Kolkata to Abu Dhabi, the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport said in the statement. The first flight will depart Kolkata at 4.15 am and reach Abu Dhabi at 7.55 am local time. The second one will leave Kolkata at 9.05 pm and reach its destination at 12.45 am local time, it said. From Abu Dhabi, there will be one direct flight to Kolkata four days a week. It will depart Abu Dhabi at 9 pm local time and reach Kolkata at 3.20 am. Etihad Airways will operate an Airbus A320 aircraft on the route, offering eight seats in business class and 150 in economy class, it said. On the inaugural day, 152 passengers travelled from Abu Dhabi to Kolkata, while 126 passengers travelled from Kolkata to Abu Dhabi, it added. With the recommencement of service